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Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard was on hand today for the traditional placement of racing flags atop the famous Wing and Wheel logo located above the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Gate 1, which celebrates the beginning of the Verizon IndyCar Series season and gives notice that the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis and 98th Indianapolis 500 are around the corner.

The annual flag placing ceremony was held under cold and blustery conditions that failed to dampen the spirits of those in attendance.

“It’s a good day,” Ballard said. “Anytime racing starts, it’s good. Hopefully this won’t carry over until May with the weather.

“I like racing and I think everybody knows that, and I like everybody celebrating racing in Indianapolis because this is the most famous place for racing in the world. I hear about it when I travel all the time, and while I was in the Marine Corps I watched the race in Panama, watched it in Germany, watched it in Japan and everybody knows about it.”

The 2014 Month of May will be jump-started by the inaugural running of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 10, featuring the Verizon IndyCar Series competing on the recently reconfigured IMS road course for the first time. The event will be televised live on ABC, which on Sunday, May 25, will also televise the Indianapolis 500 for the 50th consecutive year.

“I have a lot of faith in what’s going on over here,” Ballard said. “I’m looking forward to the additional race to kick it all off. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and it’ll bring a lot more people in.

“I’m a realist and I hope that means a lot more money for the city. I think it’ll be a lot of notoriety and I think it’ll get the entire country engaged and really focused on what’s happening in Indianapolis in the Month of May, and that’s very important also.”

With the addition of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the Month of May will be as busy as ever at IMS. Ballard looks forward to joining in the excitement.

“I’m looking forward to a good month,” Ballard said. “I have a lot of events scheduled out here in the Month of May with different groups that are coming in, so I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time out here because it’s always a great time.”

The 2014 Verizon IndyCar Season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 30 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

ABC’s live race telecast begins at 3 p.m. (ET). The IMS Radio Network’s coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. for affiliates, on Sirius and XM 211, on www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 14 app.

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2014 ticket information: Ticket information is available for the four events in 2014 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, 98th Indianapolis 500, Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard and Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

Fans can order tickets at www.ims.com/tickets, by calling 800-822-INDY or 317-492-6700 between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or by visiting the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday.

Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are available. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

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March 28, 2014 | By IMS
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard was on hand today for the traditional placement of racing flags atop the famous Wing and Wheel logo located above the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Gate 1, which celebrates the beginning of the Verizon IndyCar Series season and gives notice that the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis and 98th Indianapolis 500 are around the corner.

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